Business Over Breakfast: Trends and Local Issues

Debbie Braun has 25 years’ experience in the Chamber and Destination Marketing field as the President & CEO of the Aspen Chamber Resort Association. She is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organizational Management (IOM) and received her certificate for 96 hours of Nonprofit Organizational Management coursework. Debbie is also a Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) through Destinations International. She is the past chair and board member of the Destination Marketing Association of the West and former board member of the Colorado Chamber of Commerce Executives. Debbie received in 2020 the Governor’s award for outstanding individual contribution to Colorado Tourism and is a mentor for the Colorado Tourism Office leadership journey.

Dr. Elizabeth A. Ramey is principal economist and demographic analyst for the non-partisan Legislative Council Staff of the Colorado state legislature. She specializes in labor markets, income tax, and TABOR, as well as legislative impacts on demographic disparities. Prior to joining Legislative Council Staff in 2019, Dr. Ramey was associate professor of economics at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY and consultant for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva, Switzerland. 

William Small began his real estate career as a Political Affairs Director and Political Affairs Legal Counsel for the National Association of REALTORS in Washington, DC where he directed political and government programs for the nation’s largest and most politically active trade association. During his career, he’s been a real estate investor, developer, commercial broker and advisors to major corporations, investors and institutions on a variety of complex real estate transactions, such as representing the United States Mint on their 265,000 square foot headquarters build-to-suit in downtown Washington, DC, represented Costco on their site selection and purchase of their location in the Vail Valley in Gypsum, Colorado, represented JMB Financial and Next Development in their acquisition of a 120 acre site adjacent to the Vail-Eagle County airport, represented many retailers in Aspen, such as Urban Outfitters and Kemo Sabe, on retail leases in downtown Aspen, and Wells Fargo on a variety of real estate assignments.

He’s a former real estate advisor to the City of Aspen and Aspen Valley Hospital and currently the real estate advisor to Valley View Hospital. He has written numerous articles on real estate investing and is author of the book “Negotiating Commercial Property Leases, A Guide to Leasing Commercial Property” and the soon to be released “The Big Deal Playbook, Master the Moves to Find, Fund and Profit from Commercial Real Estate Deals.” He’s a member the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute, holding the CCIM designation. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Seattle University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maine.

Maria moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in 1999, and is a named partner at one of Aspen’s long-standing law firms.  She is committed to the community, and to the Aspen Ideal of Mind, Body, Spirit.  She commits her energy and skills to various community organizations.  She has been a member of ACRA Board of Directors, and has served on its Public Affairs Committee since 2013.   In addition, she was selected to participate in the Aspen Institute’s Community Forum on Transportation and served on its Executive Committee.  She is a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Aspen Community Foundation.  But, the thing she loves the most about Aspen is just getting out into the mountains with her dogs, and enjoying all of the world class cultural offerings and events in Aspen.

Kurt Ravenschlag is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA). Since joining RFTA seven years ago, Kurt has led Bus Operations, Paratransit, Vehicle Maintenance, Human Resources, Safety and Training, Facilities, Special Projects, and played a key role in executing a $250 million capital improvement plan. Before joining RFTA, Kurt served as the General Manager of Transfort, where he led the development of the MAX Bus Rapid Transit system and the strategic transit plan for Fort Collins, Colorado. With over two decades of experience in both public and private sectors of the transit industry and a background in the United States Marine Corps, Kurt has extensive experience in transit system planning and management.

Sara Ott (she/her) is the City Manager for the City of Aspen, Colorado since 2019. She oversees $141M in annual appropriations, which include the delivery of a diverse series of community services and capital projects ranging from renewal energy utilities, downtown vitality, affordable housing development, community development, parks and recreation, police, public transit, and more. Before joining Aspen’s management team, she spent 18 years as a public servant in various Midwest local governments.

Sara has a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Kansas and a bachelor's degree from Ohio Wesleyan University.  She is also a certified public manager by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and a member of the board of the Colorado Insurance Risk Sharing Agency (CIRSA). Sara recently completed a graduate Certificate in Mediation and Conflict Management from Colorado State University.

Dan Bartholomew is the Airport Director for the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport and has over 25-years of experience in the aviation industry. Prior to coming to the Aspen in 2021, he served as the Vice President of Planning, Engineering, and Environmental Management for the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority, was the Director of Planning and Environmental at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and spent several years as a corporate pilot. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he obtained a B.S in Industrial and Systems Engineering, an M.S. in Urban and Regional Planning, and an MBA.